"It's a shock," Stefanie Jandl, co-president of the NBCA said in a phone interview Friday. "It was a shock for us and for our members. We discovered that our budget was no longer able to meet our financial obligations. We believe that it is best for us to go on hiatus and perhaps resurface in a year or so when the economic climate is more friendly."
It's the second nonprofit arts organization to close in the city. Inkberry, a nonprofit literary agency which shared space with the NBCA, announced that it would close by the end of the year.
Unlike the NBCA, Inkberry is not experiencing financial difficulties, but a lack of volunteers to run the day-to-day operations.
Jandl said the board believes the financial difficulties are the result in a drop in program attendance, which was driven by a bad economy. The board also believes construction on the Hadley Overpass, which is directly over the group's home in Building 1 at Western Gateway Heritage State Park has made a major impact on enrollment.
"Our enrollment is down for the first time," she said. "I think it took about a year for the economy to effect us. It's a difficult decision to make, but it is the most fiscally prudent thing to do until the economy
She said that while the non-profit is on hiatus, its board of directors will use the time as an opportunity to re-examine its strategic plan.
Board members are clearing out the organization's space at Heritage State Park - shuttering the space completely on Nov. 30. "The space was really wonderful," Jandl said. Founded in late 2003 under the auspices of Northern Berkshire Creative Arts, the organization's original mission was to make art classes available to all socio-economic levels by offering affordable classes, scholarships and work study opportunities. Classes were originally offered in early 2004 from space on the Mass MoCA campus.
In 2006, the company moved across town to its own space in Building 1 at Western Gateway Heritage State Park and expanded its programming to include off-site workshops in conjunction with Sheep Hill, Pine Cobble School, the Clark Art Institute and Williams College Museum of Art. It worked in partnership with the North Adams Public Schools after school and summer programs and the Brien Center.
" We're hoping this isn't the end," Jandl said. "There is hope out there that we'll be back in a year."
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